Engine starter control



March 17, 1953 P. SCHNEIDER ET AL 2,632,118

Y ENGINE STARTER CONTROL Filed May 9, 1951 INVENTORSI PAUL Z.Sal/velar]?! BY HAROLD 1090mm! H V l-l CUT-OUT REM 40m, 1Ws+ 55A Tue/R4firranwcvs /8 REGULATOR Patented Mar. 17, 1953 ENGINE STARTER CONTROLPaul L. Schneider and Harold J. Cromwell, Anderson, Ind., assignors toGeneral Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of DelawareApplication May 9, 1951, Serial No, 225.;425

6 Claims. 1:

This invention relates to engine starter control apparatus by which anengine cranking electric motor is caused to operate by closing amanually controlled switch and by which operation of the motor isprevented while the engine is self-operative.

An object of the present invention is to provide improved means wherebythe starting motor cannot be operated while the engine is selfoperative.In the disclosed embodiment of the present invention, this object isaccomplished by the use of a relay switch having a coil which isenergized by closure of a manually controlled switch to effect closureof relay contacts to cause the starting motor to be connected with acurrent source. By means responsive to self operation of the engine thecontacts are separated regardless of the energization of the coil.

'Further objects and advantages. of the present invention will beapparent from the following description, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, wherein a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a wiring diagram and a diagrammatic side view of a relayswitch embodied in the present invention and shown in open position.

Fig. 2 is a fragment of the wiring diagram shown in Fig. 1 and showingthe relay switch in its closed position.

Fig. 3 is a diagrammaticsectional view showing a fragment of an engineintake manifold and a suction device used with the relay switch showninFig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail sectional view of parts used in the suctiondevice shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5; is. an end view looking in the direction of arrow 5 of Fig. 4.

Referring to Fig. 1, a generator 10, grounded at H is connected by awire !2 to a cut-out relay l3 which operates automatically to connectthe generator to a battery I6, grounded at H. The field winding N3 ofthe generator is connected with ground 26 through a voltageregulatorI19.

The starting system for the. internal combustion engine includes astarting motor 2 5 grounded at 2B and having a field winding 21connected by a wire 28 to a fixed contact 29 of a. switch 30. The switch30 has a movable contact 32 normally maintained out of engagement withfixed contacts 29 and SI by a spring 33. The fixed contact 31 isconnected by a wire 34 with the storage battery [6.

The switch 39 is automatically moved into closed position by anelectromagnetic means comprising an armature 35 surrounded by a winding36 of fewer turns of relatively coarse wire and a winding 31 of arelatively large number of turns of fine wire. One end of the winding 31is grounded at 38 and one end of the winding '36 is connected with thewire 28' which ison the starting motor side of the starting switch 38.

The energizing circuit for the coils 31 of the electromagnetic switch 30is completed by c1osing an ignition switch 40, a neutral safety switchll, and an electromagnetic relay switch 45 including a core it, a coil47 surrounding the core and a frame 48 attached to a support 49. One endof the coil 4'! is connected by a wire "50 to the wire [2 while theother end of the coil is; connected by a. wire 5| to the fixed contact52 of the neutral safety switch 4|. The frame 48 is provided with an ear55 to which one end of a leaf spring 56 is fixed. An armature 51 isfixed to the free end' ofleaf spring 56 and is positioned above the core4'8 and a resilient arm 58' is attached to the armature 51. The arm 58supports a contact 5s. A U-shaped bracket 60, supported by the support49, includes arms BI and 62'. The arm Bl carries at its upper end aswitch contact 63 in alignment with the contact 59 on arm 58. The arm 58extends beyond the contact 59'. When the coil 4! of the relay switch 45is energized by closing switches 49] and 41-, the

magnetized core 46 attracts the armature 5 1. which in turn moves thearm 58 to bring the contact-"59 into engagement with contact 63.

A member '55 of insulating material is pivoted on a stud or pin 65attached: to the arm 62. The member 65 has a rounded cam portion 65alocated below the free end 58a of the 'arm 58.- "A friction washer 6? isdisposed between the head 68 of pinv 66 and the member 65. The member 65has an elongated slot 69 to receive an end portion is of a link H toprovide a lost motion connection therebetween.

The relay switch 45 and the bracket 60, are;

enclosed within a cup-shaped housing 1:2 which is secured to the supportin any suitable manner. The housing T2 has a peripheral flange 13'which. engages a resilient gasket 14 disposed between the flange l3 andthe support 49. A side wall T5 of the housingis provided with an opensing 76- through which projects the link H.

A suction device. 80 includes a container including cup-shaped shells SIand 82. The shell BI is provided with a tubular flange 83 whichsurrounds the opening it and is secured to. the. wall 75.

The. shells 81 and 482' are flanged at.

their peripheries and are secured together by bending over theperipheral flange of shell 8| over the peripheral flange of shell 82 toclamp the periphery of a flexible diaphragm 85 between the flanges. Abushing 85 is secured at one end in a central opening provided in shell=92 and a plug 89 is threaded into the bushing 85. The plug 96 guidesfor longitudinal movement a sleeve 81. The plug 85 is enlarged at 88 andprovides a shoulder 89. The plug is reduced in diameter at 98 to form ashoulder 9|. The end of the reduced portion 90 forms a stop.

The sleeve 81 is provided with an external flange 92 which abuts theshoulder 89; and has a restricted hole 93 (Figs. 4 and communicatingwith radial slots 94. The sleeve 81 has an external annular grooveadjacent its end to receive a C-washer 95 which is housed within acup-shaped washer 96 slidably supported on the sleeve. The washer 96 isurged against the C-washer by a relatively heavy spring 9'! having oneend engaging the shoulder 9| and the other end bearing against washer 96to urge sleeve 81 to the right, as viewed in Fig. 3, to hold the flange92 against the shoulder 89.

A relatively light spring 93 is enclosed within the suction device 89and bears at one end against the shoulder 9| and at its opposite endagainst a cup-washer 99 which, together with a washer I90, is secured tothe central portion of the diaphragm 84 by a rivet I82. Spring 9&3yieldingly urges the diaphragm 84 away from the sleeve 81. The left endof link 1| is pivotally connected with the rivet I02.

A flexible conduit III] is fitted over the end of the plug 86 and overone end of a pipe III. The other end of pipe III is enlarged to providea recess M2 to receive a ball check valve ||3 which a spring ||4 urgesagainst a seat II 5.

The enlarged end of the pipe III is internally threaded to receive ahollow extension H6 of an intake manifold N1 of an internal combustionengine. The pipe III is provided with an orifice or control bleed I I8above the check valve seat 5 for the purpose of relieving vacuum in thediaphragm chamber slowly while the spring 4 urges the ball 3 against theseat H5.

When the engine is not running the spring 98 urges the diaphragm 84 tothe right causing the link 1| to move member 65 about its pivot and awayfrom under the end 58a of arm 58 so that contacts 59, normally separatedas shown in Fig. 1 from contact 63 by the bias of arm 58. will beermitted to engage contact 63 when relay coil 41 is energized.

The operation of the present invention is as follows: the neutral safetyswitch 4| completes a circuit through the battery I6, switches 49, 4|,wire 5|, coil 41, wire 59, wire I2 and generator I [I to ground IIwhereby the coil 41 is energized to attract armature 46 to closecontacts 59, 93. When that happens, current will flow from the batteryI6, wire I25, contacts 59 and 63, wire I26, coil 31 to ground 38 andcoil 35 through motor 25 to ground 26. The ener ization of coils 36 and31 closes switch 30. The starting circuit is completed thereby causingthe starting motor to crank the engine.

When the engine becomes self-operative and drives the generator at suchspeed that generator counter-voltage op oses battery voltage impressedon relay coil 41, said coil is deenergized and contacts 59 and I53 areseparated. Therefore, the operation of the starting motor The closure ofignition switch 49 and will cease if there are no other means foreffecting cessation. The present invention, however, provides means foreffecting discontinuance of operation of the starting motorindependently of the status of the relay coil 41.

During the cranking of the engine, the suction produced in the intakemanifold will be sufficient to move the diaphragm 84 to the left againstthe tension of the light spring 98 to compress same until the rivet I82engages the end of sleeve 81. The diaphragm movement obtained duringcranking is less than required to cause the member 65 to effectseparation of the contacts 59 and 63; but this movement of the diaphragmcauses the link 1| to take up the lost motion between the link end 19and the slot in the member 65. When this happens, the stiff spring 91 isnot additionally compressed beyond its initial state of compression.When the engine becomes self-operative, the stifi spring 9| yields underhigh intake manifold suction, for example 10" Hg. As the stiff spring 91yields, the diaphragm causes the link 1| to move the member 95 about itspivot, thereby causing the cam portion 55a to engage the end 58a of arm58 to separate contact 59 from contact 63. This results indeenergization of coils 35 and 31 and the starting switch 30 is openedby the spring 33.

So long as the engine is self-operative, the engine intake vacuum doesnot fall to .such low value as to result in movement of member 65 fromunder arm end 58a. This cannot occur until intake vacuum has dropped to1" Hg, for example; and such low value does not occur while the engineis self-operative even on full load and wide open throttle.

When the engine is propelling the vehicle, the neutral safety switch 4|is open because it is under control by a transmission selecting lever Lwhich on being moved from Neutral to Drive or Reverse causes the openingof switch 4|. Therefore, coil 41 of relay 45 is deenergized. If thetransmission selecting lever is moved to Neutral while the engine isrunning, the starting switch cannot be closed because the suction devicemaintains separation of contacts 59 and 63.

The present invention can be used with a starting motor which isconnected with the engine by a starter drive which is actuated by thearmature 35 of switch 39 or by a starter drive of the automaticscrew-pinion type. If the screwpinion drive is used, it is desirable, incase of a false start, to allow the starting motor to come to restbefore the recloslng of contacts 59 and 63 of relay 45.

In case of a false start and the engine had momentarily produced, forexample, 10 Hg, suction to cause diaphragm 84 to move left far enough toactuate the member 65 to separate the contacts 59, 93, means areprovided to cause the suction in the diaphragm chamber of the device 88to drop relatively slowly, thereby increasing the time between the falsestart and the reclosing of the contacts 59 and 63. When the engine stopsafter a false start, suction in intake II1 immediately drops and checkvalve H3 is urged by the spring ||4 against the seat H5. Air enters thebleed orifice M8 to cause suction in the diaphragm chamber to decreaseat a rate less than the rate of decrease in suction in the intakemanifold H1. The size of the control bleed H9 is such that, aftercontacts 59 and 63 have separated and switch 39 has opened, reclosing ofcontacts 59 and 63 does not occur until after thestarting motor hasstopped. Therefore .a starter drive of the screw-pinion type willoperate properly to connect the motor with the engine flywheel gearbecause the motor is at rest when the motor is connected with thebattery.

The cranking motor is caused to operate by closing the ignition switchprovided the transmission selecting lever is in Neutral or Parkingposition. The selection of any other position renders the starterinoperative. This is accomplished by use of the neutral safety switch 4|operated by the transmission selecting lever. If the engine stops whilethe transmission is in one of its driving positions with the ignitionswitch turned to on position, the engine is restarted merely by movingthe transmission selecting lever to Neutral position or to the Parkposition.

The present invention can be used on a vehicle having a standard ormanually operated gear shift. In such case, the switch 4! could be amanually operated dash-switch.

While the embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosed,constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other formsmight be adopted.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. In an engine starting system, the combination comprising, an electricstarting motor; a current source; and means for effecting connection ofthe source and the starting motor, said means including a relay switchhaving a coil. a fixed contact and a movable contact; a manuallycontrolled switch for connecting the coil with the source, said switch,when closed, causing the coil to be energized to close the contacts; amovable member to engage a support for the movable contact of the relay;and means for mov ing the member to separate the contacts in response tosuction in the intake manifold of the engine when it is self-operative.

2. In an engine starting motor system, the combination comprising, anelectric motor; a current source; an engine intake manifold; and meansfor effecting connection of the source and the starting motor, saidmeans including a relay switch having a coil and cooperating contacts,one of which is movable; a manually controlled switch for connecting thecoil with the source, said switch, when closed, causing the coil to beenergized to close the contacts; a movable member to engage a supportfor the movable contact of the relay; a suction device having a chamberconnected with the intake manifold and closed by a diaphragm connectedwith the member; a relatively weak spring opposing movement of thediaphragm; a relatively stiff spring for limiting the movement of thediaphragm by intake suction during cranking of the engine to a distanceless than required to cause the member to separate the contacts, saidstiff spring yielding to intake suction produced when the engine isself-operative so that the member separates the contacts.

3. In an engine starting motor system, the combination comprising, anelectric motor; a current source; an engine intake manifold; and meansfor effecting connection of the source and the starting motor, saidmeans including a relay switch having a coil and cooperating contacts,one of which is movable; a manually controlled switch for connecting thecoil with the source, said switch, when closed, causing the coil to beenergized to close the contacts; a movable member to engage a supportfor the movable contact of the relay; a suction device having a chamberconnected with the engine intake mani-v fold; a diaphragm closing thechamber; means connected with the diaphragm and having a lost motionconnection with the member; a relatively weak spring opposing movementof the diaphragm; a relatively stiff spring for limiting the movement ofthe diaphragm by intake suction during cranking of the engine to adistance less than required to cause the member to separate thecontacts, said stiif spring yielding to intake suction produced when theengine is selfoperative so that the member separates the contacts.

4. In an engine starting system, the combination comprising, an electricmotor; a current source; an engine intake manifold; and means foreifecting the connection of the source and the starting motor, saidmeans including a relay having a coil, a fixed contact, and a movablecontact; a manually controlled switch for connecting the coil with thesource, said switch, when closed, causing the coil to be energized toclose the contacts; a movable member to engage a support for the movablecontact of the relay; a suction device having a chamber connected withthe engine intake manifold; a diaphragm closing the chamber andconnected with the member and operative for moving the member toseparate the contacts in response to suction in the intake manifold ofthe engine when it is self-operative; and means operating, in case of afalse start, to ob tain decrease of suction in the chamber at a rateless than the rate of decrease of suction in the manifold.

5. In an engine starting system, the combination comprising, an electricstarting motor; a current source; an engine intake manifold; and meansfor effecting the connection of the source and the starting motor, saidmeans including a relay having a coil, a fixed contact, and a movablecontact; a manually controlled switch for connecting the coil with thesource, said switch, when closed, causing the coil to be energized toclose the contacts; a movable member to engage a support for the movablecontact of the relay; a suction device having a chamber connected withthe engine intake manifold; a diaphragm closing the chamber andconnected with the member and operative for moving the member toseparate the contacts in response to suction in the intake manifold ofthe engine when it is self-operative; a conduit providing a connectionbetween the chamber and the manifold, said conduit having a controlbleed orifice; and a check which blocks connection between the intakeand the chamber in case of a false start, said orifice retardingdecrease of suction in the chamber whereby suction in the chamberdecreases at a rate less than the rate of decrease of suction in themanifold.

6. In an engine starting system, the combination comprising, a startingmotor, a current source; an engine intake manifold; means for eifectingconnection of the source and the starting motor, said means including arelay switch having a coil, a fixed contact and a movable contact; amanually controlled switch for connecting the coil with the source, saidswitch, when closed, energizing the coil to close the contacts; amovable member adapted to engage a support for the movable contact ofthe relay; a suction device having a chamber connected with the intakemanifold; a diaphragm closing the chamber; means connected to thediaphragm and operatively connected with the movable member; resilientmeans acting upon the diaphragm to limit the movement of the diaphragmby intake suction during cranking so as to prevent the member fromseparating the contacts, said resilient means yielding to intake suctionproduced when the engine is self-operative so that the member separatesthe contacts.

PAUL L. SCHNEIDER. HAROLD J. CROMWELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Re. 23,340 1,744,868 5 1,875,192 1,936,6191,985,309 2,023,639 2,062,970

Number Name Date Lincoln Feb. 13, 1951 Cox Jan. 28, 1930 Middleton Aug.30, 1932 Christian Nov. 28, 1933 Boyd Dec. 25, 1934 Maurer Dec. 10, 1935Dyer Dec. 1, 1936 Loehr et a1. Nov. 8, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS Country DateGreat Britain Jan. 26, 1933

